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Monday, August 29, 2011

Monday Talking Points

Happy Monday to you! Here are a few talking points for you to start your week off with all that water-cooler MLS talk. Obviously that happens everywhere. Prepare yourself:

RealSaltLake hold on to a win against Chivas USA despite being a man down. Nat Borchers was received a red card in the 24th minute and RealSaltLake was forced to play the majority of the game with ten men. However, rather than capitulate, RSL showed the type of team they can be and bunkered in protecting their lead.

While there were standout performances by several players, Nick Rimando provided heroics on multiple occasions. The important thing to take away from this match is that RSL showed that they are still contenders for MLS Cup. They have the talent and the mentality. Provided they can generate consistent momentum, the boys from Utah could go on a solid run to the cup. Certainly there are obstacles, but the first is creating that consistency and if there was any team to bet on to do this, RSL has good odds.

Seattle Sounders dismantle Columbus in a match that was uncharacteristic for the Eastern Conference leaders. The score was 6-2. Eight goals scored in a match is an extremely rare occurrence but Seattle fans wont complain. Make no mistake, Seattle is a very talented team but Columbus is not nearly as bad as the scoreline showed. All good teams have bad games where the ball just doesn’t bounce there way. Seattle’s display though was impressive. Lamar Neagle, the Washington native, scored a hat-trick to please the home crowd. Neagle had waited three seasons to score and it certainly proved fruitful to wait. Sounders fans were treated to a show though and the home crowd had plenty to chear about.

Geoff Cunningham: broke the MLS scoring record with his PK for the Columbus Crew. The record being broken was certainly overshadowed by the Seattle win, however what Cunningham accomplished commands respect. 134 goals scored since 1998. All credit where due as the well traveled striker is likely playing his last season in Major League Soccer.

George John: will not be plying his trade in the English Premier League this season. At least not yet. The transfer of John to EPL side Blackburn Rovers fell through over the weekend. The powerful defender is returning to FC Dallas who are in Seattle preparing for their U.S. Open Cup showdown with the Sounders. John is available for that game. As of yet, there is no confirmed reason about why the deal did not go through but feel free to speculate. At present, Drew Epperley, from the WVHooligan.com is looking to talk to his agent. He’ll report as soon as he finds out.